MovieChat Forums > A Gathering of Eagles (1963) Discussion > Colonel Fowler

Colonel Fowler

posted 11 years ago by tritonff
5 replies | jump to latest

A Gathering of Eagles was just on over the weekend on COZI. I saw this movie when it first came out in the early 60s and have always liked it. Can anyone tell me why Colonel Fowler was so upset at being let go? Fowler does tell Rock Hudson's character that if he (Fowler) can stay a little longer, he can retire with full pay and benefits. But Fowler is already a full colonel and should receive a very generous retirement package. He had no problems finding a job.

Fowler can't complain because he made it to full colonel. I worked with a guy whose father was a B17 pilot during WWII. His father then flew the B52 as a command pilot. Unfortunately, after the war in Viet Nam wound down, hundreds of Air Force officers and enlisted men were "rifted." My co-worker's father was a Lt. Colonel but passed over once and then a second time. He was forced to retire.

[–] Lincbond442 11 years ago

I also caught this on COZI the other day. I have watched my VHS copy that I bought back in the 1990's many times but this was the first time I had ever seen it on TV. I missed most of it so I hope they show it again.

Regarding Colonel Fowler, my guess is that he needed to be in for a certain number of years and he was just shy of finishing those years. In addition, being dismissed because of a drinking problem would look really bad on his record. This would greatly affect his future job prospects. He needed every dollar he could earn because of his son starting college.

It is interesting to note that Barry Sullivan, who played Colonel Fowler, was also in the movie "Strategic Air Command" and also played an Air Force officer in SAC.

"Who knows, Mr. Gilbert, what a limit really is." Lincoln Bond, "Toward The Unknown", 1956

[–] tritonff 11 years ago

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Twenty years service is needed in order for an enlisted man or officer to receive a lifetime of benefits and a monthly retirement check. If they are let go or retire before twenty years, they receive nothing. In the early seventies, men and women (both enlisted and officers) were let go after 19 years service. They were bitter and some asked their congressmen and senators for help.

I was assuming that Colonel Fowler had twenty years in but if he had enlisted at the beginning of World War II, he could have only seventeen years. This might explain why he was so depressed and why he would attempt suicide. His son had to get a job and drop out of Stanford because they could no longer afford the tuition.

I don't know any officers who put in twenty years but I do know two guys who put in twenty years as enlisted men. They retired as Master Sergeants and were both receiving about $1250 a month.

[–] sggar00 11 years ago

In the movie it is stated that he had 24 years of service. In those days, once you hit 20 you received half of your base pay or rather 50%. By law, the most you can ever receive for a normal military retirement (medical is different) is 75% of your base pay which equates to 30 years of service. The formula for figuring out a military retirement for today’s service member is different than what it was back then. There were many officers/enlisted that hung on to reach that 30 for 75%. It actually is quite hard to do a full 30. I only know of a handful who achieved that mark. Hope this helps. (One other thing, not that pay today is comparable to a civilian position, but pay back then in the era of this movie was for an 0-6 which is a full bird colonel was only $985.00 a month which would be about $785.00 at 30 years or as it was considered to be a full retirement).

[–] Reedmalloy 8 years ago

Nice summary and very accurate. My dad was an E-8 and retired in early 1974 just before his 31st anniversary, at the age of 50. Even then his retirement was involuntary.

[–] jeffyoung1 8 years ago

Few American civilian citizens understand, much less know, what men and women in uniform must go through.

The U.S. military enthusiastically advertises itself as a wonderful, terrific career opportunity for young men and women starting off in life who need that first big break because they have neither the experience nor the skills that civilian corporations demand. For the most part, the military delivers. What is not known is that the military does not guarantee that you'll be allowed to remain for 20 plus years to earn that coveted lifetime pension which is paid out immediately. The retiree does not have to wait till age 65 to begin collecting.

The military is always going through either, too many service members or not enough. The Afghan and Iraq wars underscored both conditions. It was too many people before 9/11 and the military services trimmed their members. Then came 9/11 then Afghanistan and then Iraq and suddenly the military didn't have enough people. The military pulled its 'Stop Loss' stunt, essentially breaking its contracts with service members. The Army in particular starting pulling back ex-Army people with threats of legal action if they didn't return. The Army astonishingly resorted to hiring several hundred officers away from the Air Force. Then both wars ran down, petering out. Now the military once again had too many people and started once again getting people out.

The end of the Vietnam War in 1973 for the U.S. brought on a 'rift'. Commissioned officers and senior non-commissioned officers were essentially given the pink slip. There was large scale anger and bitterness but the U.S. public couldn't careless at the time.
Besides the military pink slip, a service member could be allowed to remain in the military but have to acquiesce to a rank demotion, sometimes severe. After WWII, there were a number of these administrative (non-disciplinary) demotions. One full colonel was reduced to master sergeant.